Love will Find The way

Chapter 71- I'm All Yours

Nandini's POV:

Manik is never keen on getting married. He always feel that marriage is a trap. Never have I heard anything positive from about marriage. ''Yes'' he said while I closed my eyes in anticipation of his rejection. I was surprised, no I was shocked. I didn't expect this reaction from Manik. ''But itna jaldi ye sab kuch'' he was confused too. I didn't knew how to react. This is supposed to be the most precious moment of our lives but I messed it up. More than anything, I have developed a fear of losing Manik to Siya or Dhruv. ''Tum ne ha bol diya?'' I wanted to reconfirm again. ''Yes, a thousand times'' he said leaning towards me. ''I will fly to New York, maa se baat karke turant sabko yaha leke aaunga and then you know the drill, Sabki baaratein aayi'' he said happily. ''No'' he got me all wrong. ''Would your mom or Mukti accept me as your wife?'' I definitely knew that would be a big no. 

''They might say no, but don't worry, I will make them accept you. I will talk and convince them that how important are you in my life'' he said. ''Siya ke hote hue ye kabhi ho nahi sakta'' I spilled the beans. ''Ha but maine unse bol diya ki main Siya se shaadi nahi karunga'' he said innocently. ''Tumne bol diya hoga but wo aise hi maan nahi liya hoga na'' I said. ''Ye shaadi ka keeda kab se laga rakha hai tu ne apne dil mein'' Manik asked me. I did not tell anything. ''I do not know all that, I want to marry you TOMORROW. And I don't want anyone know about this too'' I said. ''What?'' Manik didn't believe his ears. ''Tomorrow ka kya matlab? Kal kaise shaadi karenge?'' Manik seems to lost his cool but he was back to his calm and composing posture in a minute. I could see how Manik is trying hard to maintain his calmness. He made me sit and he sat beside me. ''Nandini, you're unnecessarily taking stress, hume kuch nahi hoga. This is not you speaking, your insecurities'' Manik is partly right but he will never understand what I'm feeling inside. 

A lone tear escaped my eyes and Manik was in right pace to catch it. ''Careful Nandini, you will lose your precious pearls'' he said. ''I know everything will be a fairy tale until I ask you for commitment'' I felt very sad after what Manik said. ''Do you mean to say that I cannot stay committed?'' he asked. ''Of course dikh raha hai na'' I said to counter his words. ''Out of the blue, you say you want to get married to me, yet you don't want me to tell any one about this. Upar se, you are trying to emotionally blackmail me too'' Manik put a straight-face so that I couldn't get away. This was my last way to make him mine. ''Nandini, you have been an exceptional actor, ek minute ke liye tho mujhe bhi ye laga ki you were really crying. But no, you are trying to convince me'' he said. Ye Manik ko manaana kitna mushkil hai! 

''Listen Nandini, I have a family and they have many dreams about my wedding too. All these years, everyone thought me and Siya will get married. Now it is my responsibility to convince her and Dhruv too'' Manik explained but the mere mention of Dhruv and Siya is giving me chills. How do I explain Manik that Dhruv is a threat. He won't even listen or trust me if I say so. The only thing I can do is to divert his attention. ''Tum movies karne ke liye mana kyu kar rahe ho?'' I asked him. ''I don't want to get into all this again. I have already made my decision'' Manik said. ''Why are you giving up on anything and everything? Actor banna tumhara dream tha na, no you said its your father's dream too. Then why is it taking back seat now?'' I want Manik to be going forward in his career. ''Ye kya ho gaya tumhe? kaisi baatein kar rahi ho Nandini'' Manik asked me.

I moved forward and stood at a distance from him. We might have come forward to erase the space between us but humare beech ki dooriya humesha aise hi rahenge. ''Nandini, talk to me'' Manik said. ''I have nothing to say Manik, agar main bolungi tho tum mujhe ache dialogue delivery aur acting ki award dene lagoge'' I said. I might sound unreasonable to him but I have my own demons to fight with. ''Itne din baad hum miley but what is all this Nandini? Dekho tumhe kis room chahiye?'' he tried to cheer me up but I was no mood. ''Maybe I shouldn't have asked you to take care of your career, maybe I shouldn't have proposed you. It was my mistake Manik. Fine, this is your life and I have no problem with it. Good night'' I said as I shut the door behind him. ''Nandini, open the door. You can't always have your way with me'' he said knocking the door. ''Manik, go away'' I said but he waited for a while. Agar Manik movies nahi resume karte tho wo yaha Mumbai mein kaise rahega. Ek na ek din humare baare mein Dhruv ko pata chal jata hai. Would he be accepting us living together. Nahi Siya ke hote hue wo kabhi Manik aur mujhe ek nahi hone dega. 

I had a disturbed sleep thinking about all these. Manik must have been packing his luggage to leave. Usse jaana hai tho jaane doongi. Am I the only one thinking about ''us'' in our relationship. I opened the door and Manik is nowhere to be seen. Acha hua ki Manik yaha se chala gaya. I would have not been able to control myself around him. ''Tum abhi tak ready nahi hui. Arre baba we are running short of time, come let's go'' I heard Manik's voice but didn't turn back to see him. ''I'm not going anywhere'' I said firmly. ''It won't be good if we go late to our own wedding Nandini'' he said. Is he for real or I have started day dreaming too. I turned back and saw Manik in his famous airport look. ''Tum kal jaane wale ho na, aaj hi jaa rahe ho kya?'' I asked him. ''Not me, we are going together, flight in just 1 hour Nandini, hurry up'' he said. ''Main kahi nahi jaane wali'' I said freeing myself from him. 

''What? I'm not joking Nandini, we're going to get married'' he said hugging me. ''Sach mein'' I looked up to him and assured while blinking his eyes. ''Just like the way, you've wanted. Itne short notice mein sab kuch arrange karna kitna mushkil hai tumhe pata hi nahi hai. So here's the plan. There is a flight to Kathmandu and we can return by evening flight. Aryaman ko already divert kiya hai maine. Siya and Dhruv will be busy as it is Dhruv-Alya's reception today. Cabir-Navya ko tum busy rakho'' he said. I can't believe that he has planned it like we are some sort of secret agents. ''Itna drama kyu? Hum yaha bhi shaadi kar sakte the na'' I asked him. ''Main tera hero hoon Nandini, aur tumhe fairy tales pasand hai na. Out of all the stars, you shine the brightest. Humara love story fairy tale nahi hai but our marriage can be one'' he said. ''Chalo, time nahi hai'' he dragged me out of the house. ''Arre mujhe atleast brush tho karne do na'' it was too late until he heard me saying that. 

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I got freshened up in the flight as Manik got me everything covered and we landed safely in Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu. Nepal is a beautiful country and I can't wait to explore it. ''Shaadi ke liye Sabyasachi lehenga mat maangna please, this saree is all I could get in mid night'' he said giving me a saree. Aankh bandh kar ke bol sakti hu ki wo red saree hi hoga. ''Manik, humare yaha na brides red sarees nahi pehente'' I said to tease him. ''See, that makes our marriage unique in this way too'' he said. ''Go get ready, hume mandir pahunchna hai'' I went inside to get ready and I could never forget the way Manik looked at me while I came out after wearing the saree. I was so guilty to have Manik give in to my tantrums but I love being his.

''Why aren't you ready yet'' I asked him. ''I'm not getting married if you don't look at me the way I looked at you now. It's my wedding too and I also deserve to feel special'' he said. ''Ok my hero, sirf look dena nahi aur jo chahiye tho bhi de doongi, now please go get ready'' I had to push him inside. Manik really looked handsome and sexy in his kurta. He surely knows to raise temperature around him. We reached there and what a beautiful place it is. Hills and mountains on one side and the valley on the other side. There was no one inside. ''Isn't the priest supposed to be here?'' I asked him. ''Koi nahi hai, remember it's your policy that no one should know that we are getting married'' he said. The temple is all decorated with flowers and lights. ''Ye sab kya hai. Bride main nahi ye temple ko bride ki tarah sajha diya'' the sight was so spectacular but what surprised me is that there is no one here actually. ''Tension mat lena, maine ye sab ek assistant director ke help se karwaya, usse nahi pata ki humara shaadi hai. He thought this is for an Ad shoot'' he said reading my mind. ''So tumhe abhi bhi contacts hai!'' I was really surprised. ''Industry mein tikhne ke liye contacts kitna important hai, ye tum bhi samajthi ho na'' does that mean he is back into the movies? He held my hand and said, ''Nandini, let's not make wedding promises, which we cannot abide to. Together, lets learn to make vows first and then we will stick to them''. Manik has tied Mangal sutra on my neck and applied vermillion in the hair partition.

''Mrs. Malhotra, I'm all yours'' he smiled while extending his arms for a hug.